You no longer need Aadhaar to get a new SIM card

India’s Aadhaar scheme has received a lot of flak right since its inception. But, it has received more flak lately because of the reports of data breaches that keep making headlines. The government of India had made it mandatory to link your Aadhaar with your mobile number. The deadline to do so was extended till December 15 of last year, but it was further extended till March 31, 2018. Getting a new SIM card had also become problematic as it required Aadhaar. However, back in May, the Supreme Court of India announced that those who don’t have Aadhaar could get SIM cards by submitting other documents. And now today, the Supreme Court has finally announced that you no longer need Aadhaar to get a SIM card.

During today’s Aadhaar verdict, the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court has delivered its judgement, and has announced that you no longer need Aadhaar to get a SIM card. The Supreme Court also said that it’s no longer mandatory to link your Aadhaar with your mobile numbers.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court also said that private companies can neither ask for Aadhaar, nor can they access the Aadhaar data of the users. The telecom companies have been asked to delete the Aadhaar data of their customers from their databases.

In addition to mobile numbers, you also no longer have to link your Aadhaar to your bank account, or need one to open an account. But, linking Aadhaar with PAN is mandatory for filing income tax returns.

Apart from all this, the Supreme Court also said that Aadhaar is not required for CBSE, NEET and UGC examinations.